The Floating Opera

]> http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms008022 John Barth A Register of His Literary Manuscripts in the Library of Congress Prepared by Manuscript Division staffRevised by Margaret McAleer with the assistance of Lena H. Wiley Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2008

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2008 Finding aid written in English. Collection Summary John Barth Literary Manuscripts 1955-1978 (bulk 1955-1968) MSS50971 Barth, John, 1930- 90 items 11 containers plus 2 oversize 8.4 linear feet Collection material in English Manuscript Division Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

Author. Holograph and annotated typed manuscripts and corrected galley and foundry proofs of several of Barth's early novels, short stories, nonfiction writings, and speeches. Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Personal Names Barth, John, 1930- Borges, Jorge Luis, 1899-1986. Subjects American essays. American fiction. American literature. Short stories. Speeches, addresses, etc. Related Names Barth, John, 1930- Giles goat-boy; or, The revised new syllabus (1966) Barth, John, 1930- The end of the road (1958) Barth, John, 1930- The floating opera (1955) Barth, John, 1930- The sot-weed factor (1960) Occupations Authors. Administrative Information Provenance:

The literary manuscripts of John Barth, author, were given to the Library of Congress by Barth in 1968. Additional material was given by James L. W. West in 1979.

Processing History:

The literary manuscripts of John Barth were arranged and described in 1984. The collection was rearranged and rehoused and the finding aid was revised in 2008 when items formerly on deposit by Barth were removed from the collection.

Transfers:

Audiocasssette recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of the John Barth Literary Manuscripts.

Copyright in the unpublished writings of John Barth in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for further information.

Restrictions:

Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning these restrictions.

Preferred Citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, John Barth Literary Manuscripts, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Scope and Content Note

The literary manuscripts of John Barth (1930- ) span the years 1955-1978 with the bulk of the material dating from 1955 to 1968. The collection consists of holograph drafts, annotated typed manuscripts, corrected galley and foundry proofs, and miscellaneous editorial material from four of Barth’s novels: The Floating Opera (1955), The End of the Road (1958), The Sot-Weed Factor (1960), and Giles Goat-Boy, or, The Revised New Syllabus (1966). Other literary manuscripts include several of Barth's short stories, nonfiction essays, and speeches. Among the speeches are drafts of “Jorge Luis Borges and the Literature of Exhaustion” that Barth delivered at various universities in 1966 prior to the publication of his essay “The Literature of Exhaustion” in 1967.

Arrangement of the Papers

The collection is arranged as fiction, nonfiction, and speeches and alphabetically thereunder by title or type of material. Oversize material is arranged and described according to the containers and folders from which the items were removed.

Container List Container Contents 1 Fiction 1 Novels 1 The End of the Road (working title “What to Do Until the Doctor Comes”) 1 Holograph draft (probable first draft), 1955 (5 folders) 1 Typescript revised first draft, n.d. (7 folders) 1 Typescript final draft, carbon copy, n.d. (6 folders) 1 The Floating Opera 1 Holograph first draft, circa 1955 (4 folders) 2 (3 folders) 2 Typescript revised first draft, 1955 (10 folders) 2 Typescript final draft, n.d. (7 folders) 3 Revised edition, 1966 3 Preface 3 Setting copy See also Oversize (2 folders) 3 Giles Goat-Boy 3 "Test borings," prospectus, 1960-1965 3 Holograph first draft, 1965 3 Vol. 1 (12 folders) 4 Vol. 2 (10 folders) 4 "Posttape" 4 Typescript first draft, n.d. 4 "Publisher's disclaimer" and "Cover-letter to the editors and publishers" 4 Vol. 1 4 "Reels" 1-2 (7 folders) 5 "Reel" 3 (8 folders) 5 Vol. 2 (10 folders) 5 "Posttape" 6 Final typescript with corrections, n.d. 6 "Cover-letter to the editors and publishers" 6 Vol. 1 (15 folders) 7 Vol. 2 (10 folders) 7 "Posttape" 7 Miscellaneous editorial material, including style sheet, list of corrections, table of contents, and instructions to the proofreader from the copy editor, 1966 See also Oversize (3 folders) 7 Final galley proofs, 1966 7 Corrected reader’s set See Oversize 7 Uncorrected See Oversize 7 Foundry proofs, 1966 7 With notations See Oversize 7 Uncorrected See Oversize 7 The Sot-Weed Factor 7 Character notes, plot notes, and synopsis, 1958, n.d. See also Oversize (2 folders) 8 Holograph first draft, 1958-1959 8 Parts 1-2 (19 folders) 9 Parts 3-4 (11 folders) 9 Typescript final draft with revisions (setting copy), 1960 9 Part 1 (4 folders) 9 Part 2 9 Chapters 1-5 (2 folders) 10 Chapters 6-32 (12 folders) 10 Part 3 10 Chapters 1-8 (4 folders) 11 Chapters 7-21 (6 folders) 11 Part 4 11 Final galley proofs, corrected, 1960 See Oversize 11 Foundry proof, 1960 See Oversize 11 Revised edition, setting copy, 1966 11 Miscellany, 1958-1968, n.d. 11 Short stories 11 "Ambrose His Mark," 1961, n.d. 11 "The Invulnerable Castle," 1958 11 "The Song of Algol," 1958, n.d. 11 "Water-Message," 1960, n.d. 11 Nonfiction 11 "Jorge Luis Borges," 1966 11 New York Times book review statement, 1967 11 "Publish or Perish," 1965 11 "Tobias George Smollett," 1963 11 Speeches 11 Introductions at writers series, State University of New York, Buffalo, N.Y., 1967 11 Borges, Jorge Luis 11 Heller, Joseph 11 Updike, John 11 "John Barth Speaks to Young Writers," 1977-1978 11 "Jorge Luis Borges and the Literature of Exhaustion," 1966-1967 11 Readings 11 Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1967 11 Library of Congress, 1967 11 University of Maryland, College Park, Md., 1967 OV 1 Oversize OV 1 Fiction OV 1 Novels OV 1 The Floating Opera OV 1 Revised edition, 1966 OV 1 Setting copy (Container 3) OV 1 Giles Goat-Boy OV 1 Miscellaneous editorial material, 1966 (Container 7) OV 1 Final galley proofs, 1966 OV 1 Corrected reader's set (Container 7) OV 1 Uncorrected (Container 7) OV 1 Foundry proofs, 1966 OV 1 With notations (Container 7) OV 2 Uncorrected (Container 7) OV 2 The Sot-Weed Factor OV 2 Character notes, plot notes, and synopsis, n.d. (Container 7) OV 2 Final galley proofs, corrected, 1960 (Container 11) OV 2 Foundry proof, 1960 (Container 11)